Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 52,125 Shares of Wabtec $WAB

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. cut its Wabtec stake by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 52,125 shares and leaving it with 1,097,846 shares valued at about $234.3 million.
• Wabtec reported better-than-expected earnings of $2.71 per share, though revenue of $2.95 billion missed estimates; the company also raised its FY 2026 guidance to $10.25-$10.65 EPS.
• The company continues to return capital to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share and a $1.2 billion stock buyback authorization.

Bessemer Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,097,846 shares of the transportation company's stock after selling 52,125 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.64% of Wabtec worth $234,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WAB. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,938 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,034,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 17,890 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $3,745,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 208.7% in the 2nd quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC now owns 5,386 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $1,128,000 after acquiring an additional 3,641 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 11.6% in the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 92,097 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $19,281,000 after acquiring an additional 9,545 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Wabtec by 19.2% in the 2nd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 30,352 shares of the transportation company's stock valued at $6,354,000 after acquiring an additional 4,889 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company's stock.

Wabtec Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:WAB opened at $269.08 on Friday. Wabtec has a 52-week low of $184.26 and a 52-week high of $275.84. The company has a market capitalization of $45.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $235.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Wabtec (NYSE:WAB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The transportation company reported $2.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.09. Wabtec had a net margin of 10.52% and a return on equity of 14.52%. The business had revenue of $2.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.08 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Wabtec's revenue was up 13.0% on a year-over-year basis. Wabtec has set its FY 2026 guidance at 10.250-10.650 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Wabtec will post 10.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Wabtec Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. Wabtec's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.54%.

Wabtec announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 11th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.20 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the transportation company to repurchase up to 2.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WAB shares. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Wabtec in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Wabtec from $290.00 to $280.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen cut Wabtec from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Susquehanna restated a "positive" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Wabtec in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $290.00 target price (down from $300.00) on shares of Wabtec in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $289.82.

Insider Activity

In other Wabtec news, CFO John A. Olin sold 11,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.30, for a total transaction of $2,896,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 60,487 shares in the company, valued at $15,926,227.10. This trade represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Sameer Gaur sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.62, for a total transaction of $302,013.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 12,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,155,904.54. This trade represents a 8.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,729 shares of company stock valued at $24,387,500. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

About Wabtec

Wabtec Corporation (Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies Corporation) is a global provider of equipment, systems and services for the rail industry. The company supplies products and solutions to freight railroads, transit agencies and other industrial operators, focusing on technologies that improve the performance, safety and efficiency of locomotives and rail networks. Wabtec's business spans new equipment manufacturing, aftermarket parts and services, and digital and control systems for rail operations.

Product and service offerings include locomotive systems and components, braking and air systems, propulsion and traction equipment, signaling and control technologies, and a range of aftermarket services such as maintenance, remanufacturing, parts distribution and fleet modernization.

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